New Delhi, Aug 29 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee presented the National Sports Day awards at the Darbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday.
Rio Olympics medallists shuttler P.V. Sindhu and wrestler Sakshi Malik and gymnast Dipa Karmakar along with shooter Jitu Rai were conferred the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awards -- the country's highest sporting honour.
Following is the list:
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award 2016: P.V. Sindhu (badminton), Dipa Karmakar (gymnastics), Jitu Rai (shooting) and Sakshi Malik (wrestling).
Dronacharya Awards 2016: Nagapuri Ramesh (athletics), Sagar Mal Dhayal (boxing), Raj Kumar Sharma (cricket), Bishweshwar Nandi (gymnastics), S Pradeep Kumar (swimming, lifetime) and Mahabir Singh (wrestling, lifetime).
Arjuna Awards 2016: Rajat Chauhan (archery), Lalita Babar (athletics), Sourav Kothari (billiards and snooker), Shiva Thapa (boxing), Ajinkya Rahane (cricket), Subrata Paul (football), Rani (hockey), VR Raghunath (hockey), Gurpreet Singh (shooting), Apurvi Chandela (shooting), Soumyajit Ghosh (table tennis), Vinesh Phogat (wrestling), Amit Kumar (wrestling), Sandeep Singh Mann (para-athletics), Virender Singh (wrestling, deaf).
Dhyan Chand Award: Satti Geetha (athletics), Sylvanus Dung Dung (hockey), Rajendra Pralhad Shelke (rowing).
Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Purushkar, 2016:
1. Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent: Hockey Citizen Group, Dadar Parsee Zorostrian cricket club, Usha School of Athletics, STAIRS.
2. Encouragement to sports through corporate social responsibility: India Infrastructure Finance Corporate Limited.
3. Employment to sportspersons and other welfare measures: Reserve Bank of India.
4. Sports for Development: Subroto Mukherjee Sports Education Society.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2015-16: Punjabi University, Patiala.
--IANS
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